A helicopter moves in to make a drop as a cargo plane drops retardant near Lake Sherwood Tuesday morning as the Woolsey fire flared up in the area. With an attack from the air fire quickly doused the fire. (Photo by David Crane, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)

The winds have slowed and changed direction, now blowing from the ocean, and the cooler temperature and increasing humidity will provide some relief for firefighters battling the Woolsey fire.

But the humidity increases are minimal, points out Kait Webb, public information officer with the United States Forest Service. And in the absence of rain, vegetation, which is fuel for the fire, remains dry.

“We’re feeling optimistic,” Webb said, over the phone while she stood near the fire line “But we don’t want to play down the fact that it’s still incredibly dry.”

The National Weather Service canceled a wind advisory on Wednesday afternoon. A red flag warning was also lifted, as the Woolsey fire continues to burn in areas of Los Angeles and Ventura counties.

The warnings were canceled, in part, because winds have slowed down and are starting to blow from the west and south, said Jeff LaRusso, public information officer with Cal Fire.

Winds in Southern California typically blows from the ocean, LaRusso said. The wind change is a reversal from the dry Santa Ana winds, which blow from the desert. Starting Thursday, LaRusso said, temperatures began to cool and humidity levels have already increased.

Webb said humidity levels on Thursday were at 8 to 15 percent, and are expected to remain there for the next few days. Although the humidity levels aren’t dramatically higher, Webb said the levels were even lower at the beginning of the week while the Santa Ana winds blew through.

“With that humidity, it gives us moisture in the air and it keeps those fuels on the damp side, so they will burn a little slower, and that helps us get the upper hand on the fire as well,” LaRusso said.

He recalled the aggressive 60 to 70 mph wind gusts that firefighters faced when the fire first broke out one week ago.

Marc Peeble, a former fire battalion chief who now works as a spokesman, said the increase in humidity and cooler temperatures also give some physical relief for firefighters who wear heavy clothing and equipment, carry chainsaws and other tools, while cutting away at the dry vegetation along the fire lines.

As rain is sparse in California’s drought, the dry vegetation will always be an issue, Webb said.

“Even though the winds have given us a break, the possibility of ignition is still very high,” Webb said.